FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to formulations and processes for swelling, etching and plating for decorative and functional purposes of plastics of functionalized polymers, suitably those having at least one hydrolyzable functionality such as anhydride, carbonate, ester (carboxyl and sulfonic), amide, urethane and imide. The polymer could be a copolymer and/or an alloy of two or more polymers. The invention is of particular value with poly(oxy-carbonyloxy-1,4-phenylene-isopropylidene-1,4-phenylene), referred herein as polycarbonate and/or PC. The etching formulations utilize at least one swelling agent and at least one degradation agent. The etched surface can be plated with electroless nickel or copper with satisfactory adhesion of the plated metals.